Combination rivet installation apparatus and self-drilling rivet

ABSTRACT

A rivet installation apparatus for use in cooperation with selfdrilling rivets is disclosed. The disclosure provides for the installation of a rivet through two or more sheets of material, said installation being accomplished from one side. With this apparatus and rivet combination, an operator may place two or more sheets of material together, drill a hole through the sheets and upset the rivet while operating from one side of the material in one operation with a single tool.

United States Patent {151 3,659,449 Abernathy [4 1 May 2, 1972 s41COMBINATION RIVET INSTALLATION 3,047,182 7/1962 Batten ..72/39|APPARATUS AND SELEDRILLING 3,412,594 11/1968 Lund ..72/39l RIVET PrimaryExaminer-Charles W. Lanham Assistant Examiner-Gene P. CrosbyAtt0rneyCharles M. Hogan and Eugene C. Goodale [57] ABSTRACT A rivetinstallation apparatus for use in cooperation with selfdrilling rivetsis disclosed. The disclosure provides for the installation of a rivetthrough two or more sheets of material, said installation beingaccomplished from one side. With this apparatus and rivet combination,an operator may place two or more sheets of material together, drill ahole through the sheets and upset the rivet while operating from oneside of the material in one operation with a single tool.

7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMAY 2 1972 3,659,449

INVENTOR. ROBERT G. ABERNATHY BY W ATTORNEYS.

COMBINATION RIV ET INSTALLATION APPARATUS AND SELF-DRILLING RIVETBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to thefield of rivets and more particularly this invention concerns a powerdriven rivet installation apparatus and self-drilling rivet forparticular utilization in areas where one side of the rivet cannot bereached for work.

In recent years, the field of art of riveting has greatly improved fromthe original riveting methods, i.e., drilling holes in members, aligningthe members, clamping the members so the holes are aligned, inserting arivet through the aligned holes and then providing a means to buck upthe rivet on one side while a rivet upsetter is employed on the otherside. Recent improvements in this field include the development of blindand self-drilling rivets, all of which require special tooling andadaptation for proper use in the blind areas. These improvements arestill not entirely satisfactory since each device has a limited use. Inother words, a tool used with one type of rivet may not readily beusable with the same type of rivet but of a second size. In addition,many of the prior installation apparatus and rivets required elaboratemechanism to insure that the rivet head is maintained stationary duringthe upsetting of the rivet. Additional tools may be required to hold therivet in place. Often times the rivet is so formed that it is requiredto engage the material that is being riveted, i.e., a locking tab willcut into the surface or an oversize portion of the rivet willfrictionally engage and co-act with the aperture through the parts to beriveted.

Accordingly, it is one object of this invention to provide an improvedrivet installation apparatus for use in cooperation with self-drillingrivets.

Another object of this invention is to provide a rivet installa tionapparatus having means to conveniently accept rivets of varying headdimensions.

A further object of this invention is to provide, in combination with aself-drilling rivet, rivet installation apparatus having a means forpositively engaging the rivet head during upsetting to insure againstrotational movement of the rivet and the parts to be riveted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention provides in combination animproved rivet installation apparatus for use in cooperation with aselfdrilling rivet wherein the steps of drilling the rivet hole,inserting the rivet and upsetting the rivet are performed from one side.The installation apparatus is of simple and economical construction, iseasy to operate and provides means to positively engage the rivet headto locate the rivet in position to prevent turning of the rivet duringupsetting. Rivet heads of different dimensions are readily acceptablefor use with the installation apparatus.

Other details, uses and advantages of this invention will becomeapparent as the following description of an exemplary embodiment thereofpresented in the accompanying drawings proceeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings show apresent exemplary embodiment of this invention in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the installation apparatus andself-drilling rivet;

FIG. 2 is a partial section of the preferred embodiment of FIG. 1showing the apparatus and tool just prior to upsetting of the rivet;

FIG. 3 is a view of the preferred embodiment of FIG. 1 in partialsection showing the apparatus during the upsetting stage;

FIG. 4 is a view of the drill bit; and

FIG. 5 is a view partially in section of the deformable rivet body.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT Reference is now made to FIG.1 of the drawings, which illustrates, in exploded view, an exemplaryembodiment of this invention in which the rivet installation apparatusis designated generally by the reference numeral 10. The rivetinstallation apparatus 10 is comprised of a main portion or outerhousing 12. The outer housing 12 of the rivet installation apparatus isan elongate member having an enlarged head member 14 at one end of ashank or body member 16. The other end of the body member 16 terminatesin a formed portion 18.

The outer housing 12 is formed with a bore 20 extending completelytherethrough and in which tubular retainer member 22 is slidablyinserted. Retainer member 22 has a longitudinal slot 24 formed axiallythereon. A slot engaging insert 26 threadably engages the threads ofaperture 28 formed in the body member 16. The end of insert 26 extendsinto the slot 24 to co-act therewith. Thus, the insert member 26 willpermit limited longitudinal movement of the retainer member 22 relativeto the outer housing 12 but will prohibit rotational movement ofretainer 22.

The retainer member 22 has a uniform bore 42 extending therethrough andthrough which a drive shaft 44 extends. The shaft 44 extends axiallyoutward from each end of retainer 22. The retainer member 22 is held inplace against longitudinal movement relative to the drive shaft 44 byspring clips 46 and 48 which are placed in corresponding grooves 47 and49 about the drive shaft 44. With the spring clips 46 and 48 in place,the drive shaft 44 has free rotational movement relative to the retainermember 22 but is not free for longitudinal or axial movement relativethereto. One end 50 of the drive shaft 44 is formed to mate with acomplementary formed end 52 of a self-drilling rivet shank 54.

As best seen in FIG. 4, the drill rivet shank 54 has an integrallyformed drilling head 56 at one end. The shank or main body portion 54 isthreaded substantially the entire length from head 56 to the formed end52.

Referring to FIG. 5, the rivet body 58 comprises a formed head 60 and atubular portion 62 extending therefrom. The head 60 may be of anygeometric shape which will readily permit a positive engagement thereofas will be explained herebelow. The rivet body 58 has threads 64 formedonly at the head 60 end. The tubular portion 62 has a plurality oflongitudinal slots 63 and an annular internal V out or groove 65 formedthereon. The slots 63 and groove 65 weaken the tubular portion 62. Thus,when the rivet shank 54 is inserted through rivet body 58 and the drillhead 56 drawn towards rivet head 60 by the co-action of the threadedportion 54 and internal threads 64, the tubular portion 62 will readilydeform and collapse in a well-known manner.

Referring again to FIG. 1, it is seen that a groove or channel 30 isformed approximate one end of the retainer member 22. A detent mechanismis mounted in the head member 14 to engage groove 30. In theillustrative embodiment described, the detent mechanism comprises a ball32 and compression spring 34 which are placed in bore 39 formed in thehead member 14. A set screw 36 threadably engages threads 37 of bore 39in the member 14 to maintain the spring 34 and ball 32 in place.

The bore 20 is formed such that an internal shoulder 38 is formedapproximate one end of the body member 16. A compression spring 40 isinserted in the bore 20 and abuts at one end against the shoulder 38.The other end of the spring 40 acts against retainer member 22 to urgesaid retainer member axially outward from the housing 12. The retainermember 22 is limited in its outward movement by the slot engaging member26. The member 26 limits both outward and inward axial movement of theretainer 22 relative to the housing 12. The retainer member 22 may beurged axially inward against the force of the spring 40 to a firstoperational position in which the ball 32 of the detent mechanismengages groove 30. The co-engagement of the ball 32 and groove 30 issufficient to overcome the outward urging force of the spring 40. Sinceball 32 is held in place by spring 34, it may be seen that the detentmechanism may be disengaged by the application of an axial forcesufficient to overcome the radial force of spring 34. Thus, when thedetent ball 32 has been disengaged from the groove 30, the housing 12and retainer member 22 are free for axial sliding movement relative toone another, said'axial movement being limited by the longitudinal slot24 and slot engaging member 26. Although the detent means has beendescribed as a spring and ball plus cooperating groove, it is apparentthat other similar detent means might be employed.

One end of a rivet engaging means or socket 66 has a shaped internalland or passage 68 formed complementary with the shaped end 18 of thehousing 12 in order that the socket 66 may slidably fit on the shapedportion 18 of the housing 12. The other end of the socket 66 is fonnedwith an internal shape 70 complementary with the shape of the rivet head60 such that the head 60 may be slidably inserted in said shapedportion. A bore 72 is formed through the rivet holding means 66 suchthat drive shaft 44 may extend therethrough.

In use, the apparatus is assembled as shown in FIG. 2. One end of thedrive shaft 44 is secured in the chuck 74 of a drill or the like. Thedrive shaft 44, with the retainer member 22 secured thereto, is insertedthrough the bore 20 of the outer housing 12 to the first operationalposition wherein the detent ball 32 engages the groove 30 of theretaining member 22. In this position, the spring 40 is seen to becompressed. The rivet engaging socket 66 abuts with the end of thetubular shank member 16. The formed end 50 of drive shaft 44 extendsthrough the socket 66 to engage or mate with the formed end 52 of therivet shank 54, said drill shank 54 having previously been threadablyinserted through the rivetbody 58.

In operation, the materials to be fastened together, such as two piecesof material or the like 76 and 78, are placed in proximity to oneanother. The drill or the like is actuated and the drill tip 56 drillsits own hole through the pieces 76 and 78. It should be noted that thediameter of the drill head 56 is slightly larger than the outer diameterof tubular portion 62 of the rivet head 58. During this initialoperation, there is a clearance between the end of socket member 66 andthe rivet head 60. Hence, when the drill is actuated, the rotationalforce is transmitted via drive shaft 44, mating portions 50 and 52, andshank 54 to the drill head 56. The outer housing 12 may be heldstationary or allowed to rotate in conjunction with the drive shaft 44depending on the wishes of the operator. The only criteria are thatthere be clearance between the end of socket 66 and rivet head 60. Afterthe drill tip 56 drills through members 76 and 78, the rivet body 58follows through and seated against one surface of member 76, as shown inFIG. 2.

In order to upset or collapse the rivet body 58, the outer housing 12 isinitially urged axially toward member 76. The axial force overcomes thespring 34 force holding ball 32 in groove 30 and releases the retainermember 22 for longitudinal movement relative to the housing 12. Once thedetent means has been overcome and released, the socket 66 is seatedagainst the piece 76. In this operational position, the head 60 isslidably fitted within the complementary shaped portion 70 of socket 66such that the head 60 is positively engaged. The socket 66 then holdsthe rivet body 58 from turning. Thus, when the drill 74 is again engagedand the outer housing 12 and socket 66 are held stationary, the threadedshank 54 will co-act with the internal threads 64 in the head portion ofthe rivet body 58 and causes the tubular portion 62 to collapseoutwardly in a known manner. As the collapsing of the tubular portion 62continues, the drive shaft 44 and retainer member 22 axially retractrelative to the housing 12 a corresponding distance equal to thecollapsing distance of the portion 62. Continued rotational movement ofthe threaded shank 54 within the internally threaded head 60 causes thedrill head 56 to pull the lower, non-threaded portion of tubular member62 toward the head 60. This causes the tubular portion 62 to bulgeoutwardly and the continued rotational action causes the outward bulgingor deformation as shown in FIG. 3 which pulls the pieces 76 and 78tightly together and remain tightly held together by the upset rivethead 58.

Continued shaft rotation will cause the shank 54 to be jammed in thethreads of the head 60. The drill shaft may be so designed that, whenthe excess torque is applied, the shank may break off and fall from thecollapsed rivet body leaving no appreciable protrusion on either side ofthe two parts. In other desirable applications, the upsetting operationis stopped just prior to the jamming or when the rivet is just snug withregard to the pieces being riveted. The drill may be then reversed andthe threaded shank 54 will drop out on the far side of piece 78. Hence,a threaded hole for mounting a bolt remains.

It has been found that rivet bodies 58 having a hexagonally shaped head60 are very advantageous from the standpoint that the rivet engagingmember 66 may be a socket from the common everyday tool box. Hence, ifthe rivet head 60 changes from a one-half inch on one job tothree-fourths inch on another job, it is only necessary to remove theone-half inch socket member 66 and replace it with a three-fourths inchsocket member. The end 50 for receiving and mating with the shaped end52 may have a bushing inserted therein, not shown, for insuring properaxial alignment of the drill shaft 54 relative to the drive shaft 44.The mating or engaging portion 50 may be formed integrally in the shaft44 as shown or a socket may be threadably inserted in the shaft so as toreceive the complementary formed end 52. It is also possible to includea spring detent type member in the portion 50 so that the drill rivetwill be snugly held and not drop out should the apparatus be pointeddownwardly.

It can be seen that it is possible to drill and upset a rivet from theoperators side in substantially one operation and that this inventionprovides for the positive engagement of the rivet body during upsetting.

While a present exemplary embodiment of this invention has beenillustrated and described, it will be recognized that this invention maybe otherwise variously embodied and practiced by those skilled in theart.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination a rivet installation apparatus and selfdrilling rivetcomprising;

a housing having a bore therethrough;

a drive shaft having free rotational and longitudinal movement relativeto said housing extending through the bore, one end of said drive shaftbeing rotationally driven by a power source and the other end of saidshaft adapted to engage one end of a self-drilling rivet;

means for limiting the longitudinal movement of said drive shaftrelative to said housing;

a rivet head engaging means at one end of said housing, said engagingmeans having a bore therethrough wherein said drive shaft extendstherethrough for cooperative engagement with said one end of theself-drilling rivet,

retention means for longitudinally positioning said housing relative tosaid drive shaft to provide a first operational position wherein saidother end of said drive shaft engages the one end of said self-drillingrivet and wherein said rivet head engaging means is longitudinallyspaced from the rivethead so that rotation of said drive shaft causes alike rotation of said self-drilling rivet and rivet head; and

means urging said housing to a second operational position upon releaseof said retention means wherein said rivet headengaging means engagesthe rivet head to prevent rotational movement of said rivet head wherebycontinued rotational movement of said drive shaft provides an upsettingof the rivet body.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which said means forlimiting the longitudinal movement of said drive shaft relative to saidhousing comprises:

a retainer member coaxially mounted about said drive shaft and having alongitudinal slot formed thereon, said drive shaft having freerotational movement relative to said retainer member;

a slot engaging member attachable to said housing and ex tending intothe bore for engagement with the slot formed in said retainer memberwherein axial movement of said retainer member is limited by said slotengaging member;

positioning means for preventing longitudinal movement of said retainermember relative to said drive shaft.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 in which said retention meanscomprises a spring biased detent ball mounted in said housing andextending into said bore for engagement with said retainer member; saidretainer member having a complementary detent receiving element formedadjacent one end.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 3 in which said means forurging said housing to a second operational position is a compressionspring mounted in said bore coaxially about said drive shaft, saidspring acting at one end against an internal shoulder formed by the borein said housing; and

wherein the rivet head engaging means comprises a detachable socketmember.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 4 wherein said detachablesocket member is formed at one end with an internal shape complementarywith the shape of a rivet head such that the rivet head is slidablyinserted in said socket shaped portion in the second operationalposition.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein one end of said driveshaft extends outwardly from one end of said housing for engagement witha source of rotational power.

7. A rivet installation apparatus for inserting and upsettingself-drilling rivets comprising:

a drive shaft, one end of said shaft being rotationally driven by apower source and the other end of said shaft adapted to engage one endof a self-drilling bit;

a housing having a bore therethrough mounted coaxially about said driveshaft, said drive shaft having free rotational and longitudinal movementrelative to said hous- 8;

means for limiting the longitudinal movement of said drive shaftrelative to said housing;

a rivet head engaging means at one end of said housing, said engagingmeans having a bore therethrough wherein said other end of said driveshaft extends part way therethrough for cooperative engagement with theone end of the self-drilling bit;

detent means for longitudinally positioning said drive shaft relative tosaid housing to provide a first operational position wherein said otherend of said drive shaft engages said one end of the self-drilling bitand wherein said rivet head engaging means is axially spaced from therivet head to that rotation of said drive shaft causes a like rotationof the self-drilling rivet; and

spring means urging said housing to a second operational position uponrelease of said detent means wherein said rivet head engaging meansengages the rivet head to prevent rotational movement of the rivet headwhereby continued rotational movement of said drive shaft provides anupsetting of the rivet body.

1. In combination a rivet installation apparatus and selfdrilling rivet comprising: a housing having a bore therethrough; a drive shaft having free rotational and longitudinal movement relative to said housing extending through the bore, one end of said drive shaft being rotationally driven by a power source and the other end of said shaft adapted to engage one end of a self-drilling rivet; means for limiting the longitudinal movement of said drive shaft relative to said housing; a rivet head engaging means at one end of said housing, said engaging means having a bore therethrough wherein said drive shafT extends therethrough for cooperative engagement with said one end of the self-drilling rivet, retention means for longitudinally positioning said housing relative to said drive shaft to provide a first operational position wherein said other end of said drive shaft engages the one end of said self-drilling rivet and wherein said rivet head engaging means is longitudinally spaced from the rivet head so that rotation of said drive shaft causes a like rotation of said self-drilling rivet and rivet head; and means urging said housing to a second operational position upon release of said retention means wherein said rivet head engaging means engages the rivet head to prevent rotational movement of said rivet head whereby continued rotational movement of said drive shaft provides an upsetting of the rivet body.
 2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 in which said means for limiting the longitudinal movement of said drive shaft relative to said housing comprises: a retainer member coaxially mounted about said drive shaft and having a longitudinal slot formed thereon, said drive shaft having free rotational movement relative to said retainer member; a slot engaging member attachable to said housing and extending into the bore for engagement with the slot formed in said retainer member wherein axial movement of said retainer member is limited by said slot engaging member; positioning means for preventing longitudinal movement of said retainer member relative to said drive shaft.
 3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 in which said retention means comprises a spring biased detent ball mounted in said housing and extending into said bore for engagement with said retainer member; said retainer member having a complementary detent receiving element formed adjacent one end.
 4. The combination as set forth in claim 3 in which said means for urging said housing to a second operational position is a compression spring mounted in said bore coaxially about said drive shaft, said spring acting at one end against an internal shoulder formed by the bore in said housing; and wherein the rivet head engaging means comprises a detachable socket member.
 5. The combination as set forth in claim 4 wherein said detachable socket member is formed at one end with an internal shape complementary with the shape of a rivet head such that the rivet head is slidably inserted in said socket shaped portion in the second operational position.
 6. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein one end of said drive shaft extends outwardly from one end of said housing for engagement with a source of rotational power.
 7. A rivet installation apparatus for inserting and upsetting self-drilling rivets comprising: a drive shaft, one end of said shaft being rotationally driven by a power source and the other end of said shaft adapted to engage one end of a self-drilling bit; a housing having a bore therethrough mounted coaxially about said drive shaft, said drive shaft having free rotational and longitudinal movement relative to said housing; means for limiting the longitudinal movement of said drive shaft relative to said housing; a rivet head engaging means at one end of said housing, said engaging means having a bore therethrough wherein said other end of said drive shaft extends part way therethrough for cooperative engagement with the one end of the self-drilling bit; detent means for longitudinally positioning said drive shaft relative to said housing to provide a first operational position wherein said other end of said drive shaft engages said one end of the self-drilling bit and wherein said rivet head engaging means is axially spaced from the rivet head to that rotation of said drive shaft causes a like rotation of the self-drilling rivet; and spring means urging said housing to a second operational position upon release of said detent means wherein said rivet head engaging means engages the rivet head to prevent rotational Movement of the rivet head whereby continued rotational movement of said drive shaft provides an upsetting of the rivet body. 